Flickers of time
by TheLadyMuse
Summary: Part 5 of When the World Stopped and Time Began. Basically, one of the two or three jobs Haizaki used to work was as a member of an eclectic gothic ensemble band. When he needs money the most, his bandmates remember him.


**Another inspired! piece. This one is an AU of 'Baby, don't forget my name' by Kolbie**. **If it disappears, per my policy, it was requested by her that I take it down.**

 **Basically, one of the two or three jobs Haizaki used to work was** as **a member of an eclectic gothic ensemble band. When he needs money the most, his bandmates remember him.**

 **Kolbie's latest chapter had me worried. Poor Shougo is always worried about money, and then his Mom ended up in the hospital! So I figured having a hand extended would be pretty okay. Akashi's a tiny bit weird in this because his Emperor Eye allows him to see/remember what was/could be.**

 ***Shougo kisses an original character after he finishes a concert. The reasoning behind this is that they are young teenagers high on adrenaline who trust each other and have previously staged such things.**

Haizaki Shougo froze where he stood. He had just left school, was still milling in the knot of team members, Tetsuya, Kagami and Momoi, when Shiraki Hikari dashed over to him, beaming as the skirt of her Tajiki Academy uniform dress swished around her knees. About ten feet behind her stood her brothers, Hayate and Hideki. He didn't hear what she was saying, because she shouldn't know him.

In that future where his mother had collapsed because of exhaustion, he'd worked three jobs, and he'd been good at one. One of those jobs was working as part of 'fresh gothic' band. He'd gone by Haizaki the Shogun, partly because then they were four Hs, partly because Hikari had thought it was funny. When the girl cunning and strong enough to be the most trusted aide/bodyguard (and most likely, play toy) of several years to Akashi Seijuurou spoke, everyone listened.

Hikari-hime shouldn't know him, but she does. She jogs up, tugs on the sleeve of his white blazer and insists

"Shogun, you need to be at the club in two hours, okay?" And then she's gone, Hideki grabbing her arm while Hayate waved at Shougo. Nodded to his (former?) band leader, he turned away from his teammates and friends, answering questions shortly. He knows Nijimura or Kise will let Shion or his Mom know, and really, it's whatever. The club where their playing has a teen section, which is where they'd started last time. The night they debuted, they'd made five thousand yen in tips. Eventually, Hikari had paid for her schooling, Hideki and Hayate had opened a business together and Shougo had paid off his mothers' medical bills. If they wanted to get started sooner, he was all for it.

By the time he was backstage at Club Mirror, he'd already been briefed on what the Shiraki siblings knew, and aside from timetravelling, they were onboard for a good time and to make music. Hikari had changed into her favourite outfit of sports skirt, corset and long boots, while her brothers and Shougo had pulled on skate jeans, combat boots and inked henna tattoos on each other. Shougo was pretty pleased with the way he turned out. His grey hair had been spiked to show off his earrings, tiny henna dots swirled beneath his eye before running down his jaw and angling back to curl around to the side of his throat, crossing down his collarbone and blooming into an ivy inspired sleeve on his arm that stopped in a neat curl around his wrist. The back tatt decal was his crowning glory though. A huge, snarling silver dragon had been arrayed just over the curve of his ass. A leather cuff was tied around his right wrist, and a silver chain on his neck.

The only reason they could afford costumes like this was that they were trust fund punks, Shougo knew, but the most generous people he'd ever known.

Hideki and Hayate both had dragon decals and henna as well, just arranged differently. Hikari wore half gloves, but no decal or henna. As their drummer, she would sweat more than the rest of them.

Taking in a deep breath, Shougo handed off the custom drumsticks Hikari had left with him when she went to get water, and accepted the guitar Hayate handed him. Then he walked on the stage and pulled his Shogun persona on like a cloak.

FOT

This was a mistake. Daiki knew it the minute his captain rounded up the team and older Haizaki's to attend Shougo's performance. He especially knew it when Ryouta squealed about Haizaki being good at karaoke (Nijimura glared at him).

So he sat there, and when the girl from earlier strutted out to the drum kit as the emcee spoke, he straightened. Said emcee was trying to rile the audience by exclaiming

"Annnd! Here are the newcomers, the Noooooble Dra-gons! Oooou-jo! Ooooumo! Daimyoooou! And," he paused, letting the smirking trio take their positions at the drums, keyboard and secondary mic, so the emcee finished as Haizaki swaggered out. Daiki barely heard the cry of

"Shoooogun!" Over the collective jaw drop at his table. 'Oumo' and 'Daimyou' both sported brown tattoo sleeves and ruffled black hair. Haizaki wore a facial tatt similar to a tribal design, his silver hair had been expertly spiked, and he had a gleaming black guitar in his hands as he rolled into the frontman's spot.

Haizaki's honeyed voice- masculine but not yet breaking- received a hell of a workout. Nijimura and Kise's hearts seemed to be palpating from seeing the nascent six pack and defined arms of Teikou's number one troublemaker. Daiki swore he would have to leash them when Haizaki pulled the drummer girl out from behind her instrument to sing a heartbreaking duet accompanied by the keyboard and second guitar. Haizaki kissed her briefly at the end, causing the crowd to go wild and Nijimura and Kise to frown. She leaned into it, before they pulled away at the same time. Daiki was surprised to see Akashi's eyes glow.

Haizaki strolled towards their table, less than five minutes later, arm slung around 'Oujo' while they were flanked by the other two.

"Guys, these are my bandmates, Shiraki Hayate, Hideki and Hikari. Dragons, this is my Mom, Ayano, my older brother Shion, my friends Kagami and Kise, my captain Nijimura, our manager, Momoi, and my teammates Kuroko, Midorima, Murasakibara, Aomine and A-" Akashi interjected in an icy tone

"We have met before." His eyes dared Hikari or her brothers' to argue. Hayate nodded and replied

"Yeah, at the yuino." Hideki rolled his eyes and pointed out caustically

"Which was kind of pointless considering Hika-chan would've said yes anyway, Ankle-break." Akashi frowned at him and said severely

"The point was for her to have a choice, Kyaa." Hideki frowned back at the reference to his martial arts club membership. Hayate sighed and ordered tersely

"Shou-kou, get your mother home, weren't you saying she suffered heatstroke recently? Dekkun, go pack up the instruments we brought, our ride will be here shortly. Kari-chan, if you're spending the night with Seijuurou, you need to text Mom." Shougo raised a brow and prodded

"When's our next thing?" Hayate snorted and reminded him

"You know how to practice on your own, I'll text you when we have another gig up." Nodding, Haizaki caught the coat a returning Hideki threw at him, accepting the guitar case and oddly bottle the other boy extended.

Daiki did not envy his friend and teammate the Inquistion that was to follow. He was kind of appalled when he shook off the questions to ask Kagami tiredly

"I think I told you 'bout some of it?" The redhead nodded and commented

"Not exactly, but I remember. You were great." Shrugging, Haizaki replied

"It's not hard, Hika and her brothers insisted I start learning awhile back, and then we didn't have gigs." Humming, Kagami asked with a smirk

"What's with the paint?" Sighing, Shougo explained

"We call it fresh gothic. Black, clean leather, jeans, henna and decals. Hika likes dressing us up, and her parents don't mind paying for it since it's not permanent." Since the silver haired boy was distracted, the others let him off.

But that wasn't the last they'd see of the Noble Dragons.

FOT

The day before Kagami was due to head back to America, Haizaki got a text and hurriedly excused himself from after-practice activities

"We're busking at the park near Tajiki, if you wanted to see Hikari, Akashi." Red eyes flashed querulously at him, but the others all agreed another performance by Haizaki would be nice to see. Especially after Hayate (apparently either the eldest or most responsible of the Shiraki triplets) promised them ice cream.

Instead of playing instruments, Haizaki and the Shiraki boys clown around with a bit of breakdance and a few other styles. Hikari grins from her perch on a barstool, a bowl at it's feet, her soundtrack blaring from a boombox as she sings translations of famous pop songs, voice tapering off as Haizaki lifts her into a partnered dance and her brothers' voices ring around passersby. Akashi steps in adroitly, Shougo gracefully grabbing Momoi as Hideki and Hayate laughingly grab the hands of two other Teikou managers, the four band members and Akashi easily sliding the others through the patterns of a European country dance.

Seijuurou laughs aloud, almost breathlessly, as Shougo and the Shiraki's come together with grins to cap off their performance with a quartet version of an American song about finding your way home.

It's beautiful and yet, at the same time, the young men who would be the Generation of Miracles felt isolated. Even Seijuurou felt intruding on the foursome would be rude.


End file.
